China raced to vaccinate its most vulnerable people on Thursday in anticipation of waves of COVID-19 infections, with some analysts expecting the death toll to soar after it eased strict controls that had kept the pandemic at bay for three years. The push comes as the World Health Organisation also raised concerns that China's 1.4 billion population was not adequately vaccinated and the United States offered help in dealing with a surge in infections
Beijing last Wednesday began dismantling its tough 'zero-COVID' controls, dropping testing requirements and easing quarantine rules that had caused mental stress for tens of millions and battered the world's second-largest economy.
The pivot away from President Xi Jinping's signature "zero-COVID" policy followed unprecedented widespread protests against it. But, WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan said infections were exploding in China well before the government's decision to phase out its stringent regime.